Development

LETTER: Neighbors Respond to Athenahealth’s Proposal for Arsenal Complex

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An open letter from the North Beacon Street Neighbors to Athenahealth and the Town Council:

Thank you for the meeting last Tuesday night. The attendees have had further discussions and we have reached a consensus on what we’d like to see happen next. We appreciate your hard work on reducing the footprint and height of the garage. However, the only way to seriously gauge the effects of this garage on our neighborhood and town is to see how it fits in with an official Master Plan for the whole property. In detail:

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Charity

Watertown Woman Raising Money to Give Gift Cards to the Homeless

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A Watertown woman saddened to see a homeless man in Harvard Square sitting out in frigid weather wearing only a tattered shirt and pants was inspired to help the homeless by giving them gift cards. Joanna Munson-Palomba started a fundraising effort on Indiegogo.com called Cards for a Cause. She hopes to raise $500 by April 13. Munson-Palomba started collecting gift cards and money to buy more cards to help the homeless in the Boston area. “Just one ten dollar donation could feed a kid on the streets or give them a warm sandwich and coffee.

Government

Town’s Vision for Common Street Includes a Rotary at Orchard Street

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Department of Public Works officials showed Town Councilors the first draft of improvements they would like to make to Common Street, which includes installing a rotary at the intersection with Orchard Street. 

The intersection can be very dicey for motorists, and Public Works officials have been working on ways to make it safer.  

Currently, cars on Common Street – which includes a long hill leading into the intersection – have no stop sign or light, but the intersection also includes not just one but two other streets – Orchard Street and Church Street. Both those streets have stop signs, but seeing cars coming down Common – particularly down the hill – can be difficult.

Tuesday night, Town Engineer Matt Schuman showed the Public Works subcommittee a drawing of the rotary. Another change will be an alteration to the intersection of Common and Spring streets, right across from Watertown High School. The present configuration has Spring Street enter Common at an angle as Common curves.

Government

Town Seeking State Money to Repair Watertown Middle School

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It’s time to replace the windows at Watertown Middle School and the town hopes to get help from the state to pay for the work. Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald told the Town Council that the school has 207 windows which are 36 years old. On Tuesday, the Council approved the School Department’s application to the School Building Authority’s accelerated repair program. The School Committee then approved the application at a special meeting on Thursday scheduled just to take the vote. The estimated cost of the project is $310,000. If successful, the town would get nearly half the project paid for by state funds.

Entertainment

Bestselling Author Coming to Town to Mark 100th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide

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Chris Bohjalian – 10-time New York Times bestselling author – will appear at the Watertown Free Public Library on March 26, as ‘One Book, One Watertown 2015’ reads “The Sandcastle Girls” in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.  

The library staff invites the community to read Chris Bohjalian’s The Sandcastle Girls, and to join us in March for programs which commemorate and explore the Armenian Genocide, its history, and legacy, and Armenian culture today. The novel is a cross-generational family saga that spans the 20th century and the miles from Aleppo and Der-el-Zor, Syria in 1915 to Boston, New York and Watertown in the present day. Though a work of fiction, this bestselling novel will serve as a powerful catalyst for conversation and remembrance. Copies of The Sandcastle Girls are available throughout the library. Large Print, Book on CD, Playaway, eBook and eAudio formats are also available.

Business

New Restaurant Approved to Go in Arsenal on the Charles

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The Arsenal on the Charles will have a new restaurant with an outdoor eating space, after the Planning Board approved a plan by owners of the complex – athenahealth. The restaurant is described as a beer garden and will go in the space formerly occupied by Watertown Savings Bank, on the back end of Building 312, Todd Morey of Beals Associates told the Planning Board. The building is also home to Panera Bread and Arsenal Center for the Arts. The space is 2,800 square feet, plus a 4,500-square-foot outdoor patio space. Morey said the name of the restaurant has not been revealed, yet.

Development

Developers to Reveal Final Design of Apartments at Irving & Arsenal

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See the design of the apartment complex at the corner of Irving and Arsenal streets submitted to the Planning Board by Greystar. The project that will go on the former Pirolli brick yard has been following the recommendations of the Watertown design standards and design guidelines, and will include around 270 apartments along with space for stores and a restaurant. The meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 24 from 6-8 p.m. at the Watertown Police Station Community Room. Developers Greystar Real Estate Partners and Oaktree FX have periodically met with residents to show designs and get feedback.

Entertainment

Revels Will Welcome Spring With Concert in Watertown

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Come welcome spring at the annual Revels Spring Sing, a family celebration of the Vernal Equinox. The event will be held Saturday, March 21 from 3-5 p.m. at Grace Vision Church, 80 Mt. Auburn St. in Watertown. The event includes communal singing, refreshments and entertainments led by Revels music director, George Emlen, soloist David Coffin, The Revels Youth Alumni Chorus, and the fabulous Spring Sing Band.